party's greatest strength, both the diversity of our supporters and our ideas. but we must do a better job in ensuring each of our parties, supporters and voters feel they are a welcome member of an open and accessible party. this is abimportant issue that we as democrats care deeply about and we, you and i must continue to look for new and innovative ways to bring more people from divorce backgrounds into our party and make sure they fell welcome and included and embed. . our chief diversity officer greg hinton had worked everyday to ensure the party's business practices and our commitment lives up -- that our party's business practices and our commitment to diversity live up to our expectations and as i informed the executive committee in december, the dnc has launched five fish tichs to ensure we reflect the diversity of our party and nation as a whole. first, improve the parry's

diverse contracting practices by working with top vendors to encourage diverse hiring and contracting practices throughout our supply chain. second continue to grow training programs that promote diversity like the hope institute training and job placement program. third, ensure that diversity policies are followed throughout the structure of the dnc, including state party delegate selection and 2016 convention vendor usage and staffing. fourth, improve diverse hiring practices, monitoring senior and general staff in identifying more diversity in our internship opportunities. fifth, work with our state partners to grow diversity by sharing best practices and helping develop state-specific expectations and goals. the strategies tactics aen and tools of the party are designed to spread the democratic message. as for the message itself, it's one to be proud of. middle-class economics as president obama said yesterday works. six years ago president obama inherited an economy that had been losing 750,000 jobs a

month. the housing market's bubble had burst and the auto industry was in danger of collapsing. under democratic leadership we just experienced our 59th straight month of private sector job growth. [ applause ] that's a remarkable achievement. pay and benefits rose in 2014 by the most in the last six years. the auto industry is thriving once again and millions more americans have access to quality affordable health care. it is our responsibility to fight for families in the middle-class and those still climbing the ladder to get there themselves. meanwhile, the trickling down economics of republicans has failed again and again. mitch mcconnell may have tried to take credit for our economic success but make no mistake, every last republican 2016 contender wants to go back to the same old tired economic policies that have failed again and again in the past. instead of fighting for middle-class families they want to stack the deck in favor of

millionaires and corporations. let's look at their candidates so you can see how crystal clear this is. first we'll take a walk down the lane of the governors. jeb bush. he's not going to fight for middle-class families, he never has. for jeb it has always been and will be about what's best for him and those at the top. as governor -- i can assure you since i was there -- he slashed taxes by billions. largely benefitting the wealthy and corpses. when his brother was president jeb backed his plan to privatize social security and in recent years he cashed in on wall street as americans were hit by the financial crisis. let's face it jeb bush is theary to george bush's economic record and mitt romney's corporate record. chris christie likes to think of himself as some sort of blunt strange talker. just ask him he's happy to tell you all about it. [ laughter ] but here's some blunt straight talk that he won't like.

his administration has been modeled on his true leadership style -- dysfunctional, incompetent and tainted by investigations and scandals. his failed leadership has driven new jersey's economy and finances over a fiscal cliff leaving the middle-class to fall even further behind. scott walker is talking about bringing wisconsin to washington. oh, goody. [ laughter ] but the fact is he's already brought the worst of washington's dysfunction and divisiveness to wisconsin. in addition to pitting the people of wisconsin against one another in contentious ideological fights, his true priority has been to please his special interest allies at the expense of working americans. and walker's latest republican -- walker is the latest republican to stumble during a trip to london where he dodged tough questions like his views on evolution. [ laughter ] inexplicably he sat silent when he was feet from rudy giuliani the other night and refused to condemn when rudy giuliani

suggested and detectively said that our president doesn't love america and questioned the president of the united states' patriotism. [ boos ] unacceptable abdication of leadership. rick perry's biggest liability isn't his pathetic 2012 run or even the felony indictment hanging over his head, it's that in his 14 years as governor two texass emerged. one for wealthy allies and special interest he is never fails to help out and one for the working families and very poor to who have to suffer the consequences of his policies. and that's not something he can simply dismiss with an "oops." [ laughter ] bobby jindal is another failed gop governor who's consistently put rigid partisanship ahead of what's good for his state. under his watch, louisiana is facing a massive budget shortfall that he refuses to do anything about. no wonder polls show he's one of the least popular governors in the country.

now tell me, if you can't even govern your state how can you be expected to govern the country? and it's not like republican senators are any better than their governors. ted cruz has essentially been the de facto leader of the gop for more than a year now and look how that's turned out. cruz is the embodiment of what's wrong with the republican party -- nothing but opposition and obstruction when it comes to helping middle-class families. the last time cruz got all his tea party buddies in the house together at tortilla coast they shut down the government and stuck the american economy with a $24 billion tab. meanwhile, back at the ranch, marco rubio has shown he's not a leader with fresh ideas, he's a follower using a tired republican play book. instead of doing what's best for his constituents and country at every turn he panders to the republican base, going so far as to run away from his own immigration plan when the party put the slightest bit of pressure on him. right now he's on a book tour that conveniently happens to stop in iowa south carolina

and new hampshire that and that he had no problem missing a week's worth of votes to engage in, but the truth is behind the shiny book cover he's peddling are just some of the same failed republican ideas that voters have repeatedly rejected in the past. and finally, the piece deresistance, let's not forget rand paul. the good doctor like to tell people he's the candidate who can broaden the gop's appeal to african-americans but hen-the-he gets mad when you point out that he questions the civil rights act, opposes fixing the voting rights act supports voter i.d. requirements 0, poses raising the minimum wage and when asks about the president's nomination of loretta lynch bragged "she's going down." he says he's not an isolationist but he confirmed in recent months he wants to end foreign aid the israel. he wants to come across as the future of the gop but repeats discredited lies about vaccines causing mental defects. who is this guy?

amidst the contradictory positions he takes to pander whatever-to-whatever audience he's speaking to at the moment his policies are outside the mainstream and would hurt the middle-class and weaken the united states at home and abroad. he's not a new type of republican, it's that everyday he's something new. [ laughter ] . and these are considered the front-runners. when you add in ben carson, rick santorum mike huckabee lindsey graham, george pataki, this crew will make the 2012 gop field look down right presidential. i can't wait to watch their debates. it's going to be an incredible circus. it will put ringling to shame now we also recently announced as we said earlier where the 45th presidents of the united states will be nominated. in the city of brotherly love -- and sisterly affection. i never tire of saying that, mayor.

the selection of philadelphia to host our convention in 2016 was the culmination of a long and rigorous process. all three cities put in strong bids, as has been said but philadelphia stood out among them based on our essential security logistics and resource criteria and i'm sure our delegates and attendees will have a fantastic appearance that will launch us into the general campaign united and excited to elect our party's nominee. with the city's rich history philadelphia offers an ideal stage from which to share the democratic message. it was there our founding fathers had the courage to declare independence by observing it in self-evident truth wes live up to today. the belief that all men and women are created equal is embedded in the fundamental values of the democratic party. we are the party of inclusion, emt power. and expanded opportunity. we are fighting to ensure that all americans have their fair shot and a chance to get ahead.

so why am i a democrat? i know what being a democrat means to me. i know that every person here has their own reasons as well. over the coming months we need to distill our collective stories into one cohesive narrative. so the american voter knows we're on their side. that must come through everyday in our word our actions and our priorities. we have a lot of work ahead of us and it won't be easy but nothing worth doing ever is easy. i'm so excited about our party's future. thank you so much for your continued support, for your hard work, for rolling up your sleeves and for focusing on the work we have ahead. we have many days that are better ahead of our party and i look forward to working with elect democrats in 2016, 200818 and beyond. thank you so much. [ applause ] thank you.

thank you very much. thank you. thank you so much. now, as you know shortly after the 2014 elections, i appointed the democratic victory task force to conduct a thorough review and assessment of key components of the democratic party's role in recent elections and so we could identify places where the party can strengthen and improve operations so we can better serve our candidates and constituents in future elections. i want to acknowledge our task force members who almost all of them are here today some were held up by weather but i want to thank them for their hard work. naomi everly who hails from boston and dallas but boston and as you might imagine -- she might be buried under seven feet of snow right now but she sends her regrets and her flight was not able to get her here. she's also the vice chair of the dnc's national finance committee

and advisory born co-chair. donna brazile, vice chairwoman of the democratic national committee. [ applause ] maria cardona principal of the dewey square group. thank you, maria. mark elias, the chaur of the perkins political law group. [ applause ] teddy geoff, a partner in presis strategies. mannish goil, the president of mkg marketing. rick polacio, the chairman of the colorado democratic party. [ applause ] and lee saunders, the president of afscme. [ applause ] and i am so pleased to recognize kentucky governor steve beshear who serves -- last but not least, as the de facto chair of the democratic victory task force to give us a preliminary report of their work to date. i guess we're making you chair

by default today. he drew the short straw to do the presentation. governor bashir was elected governor of kentucky in 2007 and was reelected in 2011. during his time in office he has focused on initiatives to help kentucky families in the areas of health health care, education and economic development. an attorney by profession he has a long background in public service having served in the kentucky general assembly as lieutenant prior to being elected governor. he holds a bachelor's degree and law degree from the university of kentucky and served in the u.s. army reserve and i can tell you, his service on this task force has been remarkable. this is a person who s the governor of a state and he has participated in every task force meeting and is here with us to give up his time to make sure we can be walked through task force's preliminary recommendation. join me in welcoming governor bashir to present the preliminary recommendations of the democratic victory task

force. [ applause ] >> good morning. well, i want all of you to sit back in your chairs, fasten your seat belts but don't fall off the podium. fasten your seat belts and take a deep breath. because we've got some things to talk about. some very serious things to talk about. and it's not all happy faces when we talk about them. as you know my name is steve bashir, i'm the governor of the commonwealth of kentucky. i'm a proud democrat. [ applause ] but i'm also here to tell you

the democratic party has lost its way. we have always been the party of the people by the people and for the people and i purposely use the words of the very first republican president of the united states a great man, abraham lincoln. because if he were here with us today he would be so disappointed in what his party has become that he would be reregistering a democrat. [ applause ] you know democrats have always been the party that believe deepest in and fought hardest to protect the economic and political well-being of all americans. thanks to our efforts, the dream of a better life has been both visible and reachable for workers, families, entrepreneurs, new arrivals.

no matter what their economic background background. no matter how humble their origins. unfortunately, the last few decades have given birth to a dangerous and ugly trend in america. we now live in an era in which the privileged few are grabbing a larger and larger share of wealth, of power, and of hope. and those vulnerable by birth health, or other circumstances have found themselves power less and voiceless. now this should be the time for a democratic leader to rise up to the forefront as defenders of the people. and we think we have. we think we have.

but the american people by their votes don't agree with us. they don't think we have because in this increasingly volatile and hostile climate, when the american people need us the most, the democratic party has too often allowed its message to become muddled, its passion, strength, to be diluted. its strategies and execution to grow flap biand our core supporters to grow distracted. rather than gain in strength and stature, our candidates find themselves increasingly shunned by fruts a frustrated electorate in search of quick answers and a need to vent. now, democrats have been successful in presidential races and thank god we have. [ applause ] but the results at almost every

other level bode ill not only for our future but for the future of this nation. since 2008 -- and you heard the chair recite some of these statistics -- the collective democratic party has suffered some devastating losses. losing congress hurts. it hurts bad. but we're also being squeezed out of governor's offices, state legislative chambers, and city council halls around this country. and those numbers folks are scary. now the problem lies not -- the problem lies not with the parties core believes they are as relevant and as necessary today as ever in this country's history. it's clear by many measures that the american people support the issues that the democratic party

fights for. rather, the fault lies in our inability, our inability to convey our principles to the american people in a concise precise, and passionate way. it lies with our inability to demonstrate the truth of how we are the party that puts people first and whose values and priorities best align with a brighter future for the vast majority of americans. and finally the fault lies with a single dimensional election strategy. that strategy which is blind to anything, it seems beyond 1600 pennsylvania avenue for the sake of this country, folks, we've got to fix these shortcomings and we will fix these shortcomings. for three months the members of this democratic victory task force have been formulate ago

plan, and it's a plan that's based on input from you, the entire democratic family across this country to improve the long-term strength of the party and return it to strength at all levels. i want to congratulate our chair because she had the courage -- and it took a little courage -- to step up and set this in motion. like us, we know how strongly she believes in this democratic party and shares our passion to win elections. so today we formally unveil a preliminary plan a preliminary draft with recommendations with the goal that the democratic national committee releasing a complete and final report will happen in may. that report will serve as a

strategic plan to guide the party's efforts through the 2022 election cycle. however the preliminary recommendations unveiled today identify several areas where work must start right here and right now. now, i've been chosen to speak briefly on this. why me? i'll tell you why me. it's because kentucky's political story demonstrates how we can stem this tide that is presently moving against us. now, nationally the bluegrass state is considered red. after all, the president received just other a third of our vote both of our u.s. senators, five/of our six congressmen are republicans. and thanks to defectors, the gop took control of our state senate years back and maintains that control today.

but six of our seven constitutionally elected statewide officers are democrats. [ applause ] are democrats. and since the 1930s, republicans have held the governor's office in kentucky only three times. democrats have also controlled our house of representatives for almost a hundred years. in 2007, i defeated a republican incumbent governor and in 2011 i easily won reelection. but after democratic setbacks nationally in 2012 kentucky remembers smell blood in the water and they proudly proclaimed that they would take over our statehouse in 2014. and many gop groups including the famous or should i say infamous koch brothers joined in that effort.

they were in kentucky in our legislative races and yet in that 2014 midterm elections cycle that ended in november kentucky democrats retained control of the house of representatives. [ applause ] folks, mitch mcconnell carried 110 of our 120 counties. think of how many thousands of ken tuckians had to go into that voting booth on election day and after pulling his lever and pulling the republican congressman's lever went and searched for that democratic state representative candidate. folks, not only did we not lose control, we didn't lose a singing seat. [ applause ] and we came within 200 votes of adding a seat. so successfully defending our house in that political climate was a dramatic achievement. now how did we do it?

we did it because we spent our time talking to families about things they care about. jobs health care educating their kids and we did it in a way that engaged them and excited them and demonstrated in very clear terms how democratic leadership was making their lives better. now, some cautioned me in that campaign about talking about things like health care, core academic standards or the economy because so-called obamacare and common core are unpopular, they said. and the economic narrative just wasn't convincing. well, today kentucky remains the lone southern state with a democratic controlled legislative chamber because i ignored that advice.

[ applause ] my friends, this is something that we all know. when you take care of the people, the politics takes care of itself [ applause ] because of our strategy, because of our messaging kentucky voters know that a vote for a democrat in state races means access to health care for families who don't have coverage. it means a job for those who don't have one. it means early childhood programs that get children off to a better start in life. it means a tough curriculum for our kids in school. they know that democrats are fighting for families and a higher quality of life for all kentuckyians and not just for a privileged few. now, we also made it clear -- and this is very important out there today -- that kentucky democrats were willing to work with anybody -- democrat or

republican, anybody at any time on any issue provided by only that they leave the partisan politics at the door. and voters of all persuasions appreciated that. they appreciated that. we put families first far ahead of partisanship for its own sake. now, all of us know the republican narrative. it's the narrative of negativity that plays on fear plays on frustration, plays on bitterness the national republican party as a collective hole is an absolute expert at that. its leaders have been successful at playing at people's emotions and they use that passion to fuel the rank partisanship and the narrow-minded nature of their views. democrats on a national level need to channel that passion of

the american people and we need to channel in the a positive direction, by focusing effectively on the things that democrats stand for. and that, my friends, is the very top recommendation in this preliminary report. . you will see that these recommendations fall into five primary areas with four others still under discussion. and the very first area has to do with the party's brand. quite simply, we need one. we need one. clab clab as this report point-- [ applause ] as this report points out, our party is a long list of policy statements and not as a people with a common set of core values. that hurts our recruiting, it hurts our support. we need a cohesive values-based narrative that quickly and

succinctly defines our believes and helps voters identify with who we are and how we best represent them this national narrative project is already under way. now the second recommendation is equally as basic. we need to strengthen partnerships with state parties to ensure wins on the local and state levels. [ applause ] for the last several election cycles, the dnc has focused time and resources and talent on presidential battleground states and it's had great success in the fight for the white house. and we must and we will be successful again in that fight in 2016. but, folks, that strategy has not been broad enough. it hasn't been broad enough to win seats in congress

governors' offices and state legislatures. we can and we must aim at wins at all levels. this national party needs to be more accountable to our state parties and all of our state parties are going to have to be more accountable to the national party. we have got to work together to make this happen. [ applause ] the third recommendation aims to protect the vote. we need a more aggressive multifaceted legislative and legal strategy to ensure every voter is both registered and has access to the polls. we used to do this. we need to do it again. because every single vote counts. [ applause ] now, the fourth recommendation prepare for the next round of

redistricting. we need a three-cycle plan that targets and wins back legislative chambers to ensure that the next redistricting and reapportionment cycles encourage democratic growth. the current gop success is the result of more than 30 years of organizing fostering talent and significant financial investments at the state and local levels. my friends, you and i both know it all starts at the local level it all starts at the local level and that's why the fifth recommendation which is we need to build our bench. we need to build our bench. we need to increase the number of democrats running and winning at all levels by helping to identify, engage, train and nurture the next generation of democratic leaders.

that includes not only the candidates, it also includes their advisors. it includes their staff. now, the task force continues to talk about other issues including the need to engage voters outside of the election cycle to create a more open and accessible national party. to invest in more aggressive communication strategies and to broaden our coalition of voters. all of these recommendations, all of this discussion is just beginning. we continue to invite feedback from you as we work to firm up and flesh out these recommendations with action steps in advance of the may report. look, this isn't rocket science. this isn't rocket science, this is politics 101. we're not calling for chamgs in

the changes in the values of the democratic party. we know who we are and we're by god proud of it. [ applause ] we don't have to convince americans that republicans don't represent america's core values. they already sense that. we don't have to redefine words like "family" "patriotism" freedom" and turn them into negative weapons to use against other americans. we don't have to incite divisions or create imaginary cray seize to spur allegiance to some cause. that's not who we are. nor do we have to hide who we are. [ applause ] we are the party of equal opportunity and empathy. we, we support fairness in all dealings. we respect both the dignity of the individual and the strength of the unified people.

look at what that simple formula has produced for this country over the last 200 years. we led the fight for civil rights, for workers' rights, for women's rights, we created social security medicare, the g.i. bill of rights. all of those represent major turning points in the history of this nation which set our people on the path to opportunity, to security and to prosperity. and the democratic party is still making history. president clinton eliminated the federal deficit and gave this country its first balanced budget in a generation. and president obama, with a steady guiding hand and sound economic policies not only saved this country from a deep depression but also made health care affordable for millions of americans.

[ applause ] [ applause ] yes, but neither the president nor democrats have received the credit we deserve for those accomplishments because we have failed to effectively communicate those accomplishments to the american public. [ applause ] folks, what we're fighting for is the very identity of this nation, its heart, soul. on one side are the voices that want to return this country to the days of anxiety, the days of suspicion, the days of fear, the days of hatred. and on the other are those of us who believe that americans are better than that. that this is still the land of student, that if you work hard and play by the rules you will create a better life for

yourselves and your children. the democratic party is the voice for all americans in search for that better life so today let us begin reclaiming the confidence of the american people. thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you so much, governor beshear, thank you so much for that really clear-eyed set of truths that is sobering and difficult to hear but one that i know our membership is ready to take to heart and thanks to the task force once again for your hard work. i know that the members will

have questions but if you could hold your questions until we go to the informal session that would be incredibly helpful. now i'd like to ask you to turn your attention to the screens once again because as we rapidly approach the 2016 campaign cycle, i know we're all watching the candidates, the roster of candidates that are taking shape on the other side of the aisle and so please turn your attention to the screens for a video highlighting the special set of candidates on the other side and just the hit parade of fun that they're providing us with. thank you. >> in a nation searching for its next president, more than a dozen republicans are standing up to fight for the wealthy. >> so if he wants a more fair and balanced income tax he's going to have to lower rates dramatically for the upper income folks. >> and leave the middle-class

behind. >> rubio and several other leaders in congress have blocked a bill that would have helped grads pay back their student loans. >> should we raise the nation's minimum wage? >> not at all. >> a $300 million cut to the university of wisconsin system. >> to protect big corporations. >> governor mike pence wants to cut taxes on corporations and that means higher taxes for somebody else. >> and make us weaker at home and abroad. >> would you leave any foreign aid intact? >> no. >> bush has released a lust of 21 of his foreign policy advisors. all but two of them worked for either his brother or his father. >> they may be looking out for their well-connected donors. >> rubio paul and cruz are out there courting the koch brothers. >> but they're not looking out for you. >> we must repeal obamacare. >> we need to repeal obamacare. >> we need to repeal every word of obamacare. >> they want to run the country

and only you can stop them. gop 2016, coming soon. [ cheers and applause ] i thank our talented video team for that liddle bit of fun. so now we move on to the final items on today's agenda. i don't believe there was any old business but does anyone have any old business to bring in front of the committee? seeing none, we'll move on to new business. is there new business being brought in front of the committee? seeing none, there's no new business, i will now ask secretary blake to make any announcement she is has. >> thank you very much. good afternoon, everyone. we've had an exciting and productive last two days and as this meeting comes to a close we have just a couple of announcements for you. first, since we are a sustainable party as you leave

the room there will be staff outside the doors who will be collecting your plastic badge holders that your name tags are in. i know you've probably grown accustomed to them over the last two days but we'll ask for them back. we'll reunite you with them at la later time. if you don't mind dropping them off we appreciate it. we also have two big announcements. the locations of our next executive committee meeting and more importantly the date and location of our next -- the next time our full body meets. the spring executive committee meeting will take place in san francisco on may 1 and 2. was there somebody excited about san francisco back there? woot. we're expecting you to show us a good time out there. and our summer meeting this year will be held in one half of the twin cities, the city of lakes, the home of the mall of america and, most importantly the home of our vice chair, minneapolis

minnesota, august 27 and 29, oh he had to leave, i had to ask him if that's when the state fair is we can get a twofer. it is? yes. i'm getting a fried something. i don't know what it is. yes, yes, i am getting it. all right as usually office will be providing you with more logistical information regarding room blocks for both of those meetings. thank you again for your continued support of my office and your feedback and we take it seriously and try to incorporate it. we look forward to the upcoming meetings and if you haven't seen outside. it's snowing so everyone please please travel back safely and try to stay warm up there. [ applause ] >> thank you so much madam secretary and thank you and your office's director julie green for doing a fantastic job

keeping our members informed of all the logistics and important information we need. please thank julie when you see her, she really has been doing an incredible job. now i'd like to ask reverend court courtney miller to deliver our benediction. originally from chicago illinois, reverend miller received his bachelor's business administration and master's of divinity from howard university in washington, d.c. he was licensed to preach by friendship baptist church in chicago and other daned in washington, d.c. please welcome reverend courtneyay miller. >> if you will please let us stand and find a posture in which we may pray. most gracious and eternal wise god we thank you so much for these last days of fellowship,

of stimulated intellectual discourse, we thank you for these people who have come from miles around who have a heart and care for democracy, for liberty, for justice, for the invisibility to stand behind while we push the agenda of the people forward. we ask you, oh god, to grace our collective intellects as we go from this place and back to our homes that we might continue to make a difference and to stand up for those who were the least and the lost. to stand in the face of the fear-mongering, for you have not given us a spirit of fear. keep us forever in their protective arms, mike our driving safe, make our air travel safe bus train or by whatever mode we are, let your angels care for us. as we go down from this place, protect our leadership that they may stand for families, the working class, that they may

stand for those who suffer under the oppressive nature making brisks. stand for the babies that have been put out on the rivers of life to float unattended. that they might have safe shores. we ask you, oh god, this not be for play, not for form not for fashion but this might be that we might really be one nation. under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. there's so much we could ask for with such a limited time to ask. so search our hearts and know our minds and bring to pass those things that work according to your will. may the lord bless thee and keep thee. the lord shine his face upon thee and lift up the light of his countenance upon thee and give thee peace as we might all say together amen and good night.

night. >> okay, thank you very much reverend miller. before we adjourn i want to thank the dnc staff for their always incredibly professional ability to put on all the logistics that are so complex of our dnc meetings and making sure that we all had a good time in the process. please join me in welcoming the remarkable hotel staff at the hyatt here they have done such a good job for us. [ applause ] . that con clues our business for today. immediately following our adjournment we will take a five-minute break and reconvene for an informal session for democratic national committee members only. the chair will now entertain a motion to adjourn. is there a second? any discussion? all those in favor say aye opposed no. the motion carries, we are adjourned.

on the next "washington journal," a conversation about the war powers act and the president's request to use military force against isis. our guest is benjamin pittos of the brookings institution. then the authorization of use of military force. we'll talk with the american enterprise institute and the center for american progress. "washington journal" is live on c-span everyday at 7:00 a.m. eastern, taking your phone calls, tweets and facebook comments. here is some of our featured programs for this weekend on the c-span networks. saturday starting at 1:00 p.m. eastern c-span 2's book tv is live from the university of arizona for the tucson festival of books featuring discussions on race and politics, the civil war and by "the nation" magazine writers with call-ins throughout the day of authors.

and sunday at 1:00 we continue live coverage of the festival with panels on the obama administration, the future of politics, and the issue of concussions in football. and saturday morning at 9:00 eastern when american history tv on c-span 3 we're live from longwood university in farmville, virginia, for the 16th annual civil war seminar with historians and authors talking about the closing weeks of the civil war in 1865. sunday morning at 9:00 we continue our live coverage of the seminar with the remarks of the surrender on the confederacy and the immigration of confederates to brazil. find our complete schedule at cspan.org and let us know what you think about the programs you're watching. call us, e-mail us or send us a tweet at c-span #comments. like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. this sunday on q&a dr. adrian

burman director of the georgetown university center farmed out on how pharmaceutical companies influence doctors on what medications to describe. >> the promotion of a drug starts seven to ten years before a drug comes on the market and while it's illegal for a company to market a drug before it's been approved by the fda it's not illegal to market a disease. so drug companies have sometimes invented diseases or exaggerated the importance of certain conditions or exaggerated the importance of a particular mechanism of a drug for example and then blanketed medical journals and medical meetings and other venues with these messages that are meant to prepare the minds of clinicians to accept a particular drug. and also to prepare the minds of consumers to accept a particular

condition. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern and pacific on c-span's q&a. >> two former u.s. ambassadors to ukraine recently debated whether the u.s. should provide weaponry to the ukrainian military in its conflict with russian-backed rebels. from the carnegie endowment for international peace in washington, d.c., this is an hour. hour. >> i think we'll get started. good afternoon, good morning, everyone. well, to me usually my day is done by this point. it feels like afternoon. thank you all for coming to see what i think is going to be a really important and engaging conversation. to introduce myself, my name is david green i'm one of the hosts of "morning edition" at npr and i took that job after spending three years as moscow bureau chief for the network traveling often to ukraine and

covering a lot of the buildup to the conflict and the news that we are all following right now. this is such an important question as to how the united states and the west should deal with this crisis and specifically the topic we'll be covering this morning whether the west should arm ukraine there have been so many lives lost and i think as we have conversations about the diplomacy and the politics it's so important to keep that in mind. i'm reminded of voices we heard on the air this week on our program. we spoke a woman a couple days a ago who does aid work in donetsk and was describing the cold war era bunkers where families have been hiding for weeks and weeks on end and when minsk too, went

into effect or was supposed to there were people who were coming out just for an hour or two at a time this wassing this was a moment when perhaps people could light fires in their homes to warm them because there was that level of optimism that they would be home soon. and then the violence has really raged on. katarina told us that her own apartment was shelled and her friend would have been killed when she was sitting on a couch had she not gotten up to take a phone call at the moment when artillery fire hit. and just yesterday we saw just the dramatic and painful pictures of the withdrawal of the military from debaltseve, a place where conflict rages on even after the cease-fire was supposed to be in force and just the images of the military under darkness trying to escape after being encircled. it reminds me of one of the

things that president prong said when he visited the united states in the fall. these ukraine army, imagine these young boys underequipped and underappreciated by the world, they're the only thing that now stands between reality of a peaceful co-existence and if nightmare of a full relapse into the previous century so that gives you a sense of what is at stake as the west tries to deal with this moment and this crisis. so i want to introduce our four panelists who were up here with me and i'll give you a little bit on how we'll proceed to my left -- we have designed this as a debate with one side on each side of me. to my left directly is john herps, he's the director of the atlantic council, a former u.s. ambassador to ukraine and co-author of preserving ukraine's independence resisting russian aggression. thanks for joining thus morning. farther to the left, stephen

piper, director of arms control he's a senior fellow in and a former u.s. ambassador to ukraine also co-author of ukraine's independence to my right, two voices who will be speaking about why arming ukraine they don't feel is a positive move at this point. jeremy shapiro to my right is a fellow with the project on international order and strategy and the center on the united states and europe and the foreign policy program at brookings, he previously served as a member of the secretary's policy planning staff and senior advisor to assistant secretary of state for european and eurasian affairs. thanks for joining us. finally eugene rumor is director of russia -- the russian eurasian program at carnegie. he's a senior associate and director of the eurasia program for russia and eurasia,

co-author of arm ukraine and you risk another black hawk down and also conflict in ukraine. thanks for joining us. before we get started, i want to see a show of hands in this room. if you believe that arming the ukrainian military, making that decision as the united states and its allies is a good idea just raise your hand. maybe a little less than half? is that fair? a lot less than half? [ laughter ] you guys have some work to do. so the format. we'll start with each side talking for about five minutes basically making the case and after those ten minutes we're going to open it up to a 20 minute discussion up here. i'll ask questions, i hope you gentlemen will talk to each

other and address each other and it will be a fun free-for-all. and then for ten minutes after that we'll open the floor to your questions. my only request is that it's actually questions and not lectures from the audience. then we'll have ten minutes to hear both sides wrap up and i would love to see where the audience stands at that point see if you guys have been able too convince the room. so why don't i begin with our two former ambassadors to make the case for arming ukraine? gentlemen, the floor is yours. >> thank you, let me start. barack obama, angela merkel, petro poroshenko all agreed there is no military solution to the conflict in eastern ukraine, that there must be a political settlement. the problem is vladimir putin does not agree. he believes in and has for the past year been pursuing a military solution. we saw this in crimea, arming the separatists, the invasion by

russian forces in eastern ukraine which even included the last several days after the minsk two cease-fire. and it suggests that the russian's goal is not a settlement but that the goal is, in fact, instability, to create difficulties for the government in kiev. so far the russians appear to conclude the hybrid warfare they've carried out has benefits and gains that exceed the cost. the west has responded with economic sanctions, they've had an economic impact that they have not yet achieved their political goal which is to bring about a change in russia's course towards ukraine. the u.s. has a commitment to ukraine under the 1994 budapest memorandum on security assurances. that was a big part of the piece in getting ukraine to give up the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal, including 19 warheads targeted at the united states. we have recommend the united states provide military assistance to ukraine most of which would be non-lethal but we recommend providing light anti-armor weapons. when we were in ukraine in january we were told three quarters of these weapons in the

ukrainian army don't work and they would have been very useful in the last several dis around debaltseve. we are not talking about american troops going to ukraine, we are not talking about advanced offensive weaponry. the goal here is the ukrainians are fighting to give the ukrainians to capability to inflict greater costs on russian aggression and to hopefully persuade moscow to change its force and shift away from conflict towards a settlement. vladimir putin by all appearances does not seem to care about russian war debt but he cares very much about the impact on russian public opinion and you've seen over the last seven, eight months an extraordinary effort by the russian government to hide from the russian people the fact that the russian army is fighting and russian soldiers are dying in ukraine. arming ukraine with the goal of getting the russians to change the calculation is part of an overall strategy that includes helping ukraine with financial support, economic sanctions, and holding open the prospect of a settlement. but it's arming ukraine that

will help get the russians to switch that settlement. are there risks to this approach? yes, but they are overstated sometimes grossly so. the risks are, in fact, manageable and the risks of inaction are much greater and it's not just about ukraine it's also about broader european security questions which john will address. >> the greatest international menace today is revisionist power in the kremlin. mr. putin having one of the world's two largest nuclear arsenals. he's stated he's a right to defend russian speakers wherever they are by any means necessary, he has stated we have to redraw the rules of europe from the post wold war era. he said he must have a sphere of influence on the post-soviet space. if we don't stop mr. putin in ukraine we will face him elsewhere. he's demonstrated aggressive attempts in georgia he you the borders of georgia by hill tear force. he's doing in the ukraine. his ambitions go beyond ukraine. he sees the counterintelligence offer from estonia on the day the nato summit ended. he called kazakhstan an artificial state.

there are ethnic russians in all these countries. if we don't stand up to mr. putin in ukraine we may face him in estonia people argue that our providing webs to ukraine would only get mr. putin to escalate. may be right. we hope it would deter him but if he escalate he is has more russian casualties as steve mention head has a problem at home with russian casualties in ukraine. if he escalates he takes more casualties he'll have less military force to go into new ventures. we have to demonstrate to mr. putin by sanction which is steve did not discuss and by providing arms to ukraine that, in fact, there's a heavy price to pay for his aggression. >> i'll take that extra minute on that rebuttal. >> i'll reck that you have an extra minute. if you guys behave as well, we'll be very efficient. >> we'll work on it. steve and john, we share your anxious and your frustration at there situation but in our view

two wrongs don't make a right. in my view, there are three fundamental flaws with the report as it is written. one, let's make no mistake, this with what you're arguing for is a proxy war against russia. russia will retaliate. we don't know how, we don't know when, but we're confident that russia will retaliate and we have not considered the consequences of where russia will retaliate, how, and where we'll go. that's a major flaw in your report and in the proposal. second, there's a fundamental conceptual flaw with your report because basically steve you have argued that there will be a fire break there will be no u.s. boots on the ground. if you think about deterring mr. putin, that's a very uncertain way of deterring someone by singh malling how far exactly you will go and where you will not go. it signals you're not prepared to escalate, that you don't have enough at stake to really keep going until you see ukraine to

victory or to some desired about i where you want it to get. and three, there will be boots on the ground. the proposal calls for not just dumping weapons in the conflict zone as i understand it. screeria

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